Thursday, April 8, 1999
today's calendar
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B U S I N E S S | Thursday, April 8, 1999 |
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spotlight today's calendar |
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Restructure banks What results, KVIC ? |
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Industry renewal fund on
anvil
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Make public audit output-driven:
PM USA victorious in banana war Patents filed for dal, dosa JCT Electronics plans rights issue Morepen expects to double exports Videocon in the dock Exide chief all right Reprieve for ITC |
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Restructure
banks MUMBAI, April 7 (UNI) — Finance Secretary Vijay Kelkar is likely to meet Reserve Bank of India Governor Bimal Jalan tomorrow to discuss the issue of interest rate cuts, sources said. The meeting comes in the wake of Dr Kelkar’s announcement in Delhi favouring a further cut in interest rates even as Mr Jalan had indicated that such a move was not likely. Meanwhile, the Finance Secretary today met bank chiefs here and discussed the structural changes taking place in the banking industry. The meeting commenced with a presentation by Mr M.N. Dandekar, Chief Executive and Secretary of the Indian Banks Association. The structural changes are necessitated by changes in the regulatory environment, market forces, technological advances and the effect of integration with global economy. Dr Kelkar has suggested a full-fledged discussion on human resources management be held in his next meeting with IBA stating that retraining the staff and deployment of excess staff are challenges brought in by changes in information technology. The IBA presentation also stressed on capital restructuring. He also discussed the Y2K preparedness of the banks. The IBA clarified that the banks have taken steps to be Y2K compliant and on March 31, 1999, except eight banks, all others were expected to be Y2K compliant. The RBI and IBA are monitoring the progress on a monthly basis, Dr Kelkar was informed. Dr Kelkar also urged the
banks to step up housing finance and take up gold deposit
schemes in a big way. He also asked the IBA to prepare a
paper on important issues relating to banking. |
Industry
renewal fund on anvil CHANDIGARH, April 7 — Mr Raghwan Parthasarthy, a management consultant of Strategic Consultant Group of the USA, called on Punjab Chief Minister, Parkash Singh Badal here today and gave a presentation on strategic frame-work for the development of food processing in the state. The 20-minutes presentation depicts the study on food production, constraints in marketing of agriculture produce and suggestions to improve income of the farming community. The Chief Minister said effective steps for value addition to the farm sector through dairy, poultry, bee-keeping etc were on the anvil. The government proposed to develop a fast-track integrated farm- to-retail cold chain sector. A special incentive policy for the agro industries has been introduced. The State was keen to set up, in collaboration with the private sector, an agro-commodity exchange on market intelligence to offer business opportunities to promote sale-purchase of agro-commodities with emphasis on “brand” commodities. Effort will be to eliminate middle-men and improve distributional efficiency of the marketing system. Mr Badal said creation
of an industry renewal fund targeted at the
agro-industries is under consideration. This fund will be
created in consultation with IDBI, SIDBI and RBI to aid
in rejuvenating the sick industry as well as in setting
up new projects. |
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NEW DELHI, April 7 (PTI) — The Industry Minister, Mr Sikander Bakht, said today that the Khadi and Village Industry Commission (KVIC) should operate on a commercial basis to become self-reliant. “A lot of money has
been spent on the KVIC, but what have been the results?
Business activity should run on commercial
principles,” Mr Bakht said, while addressing a
seminar on “rural industrialisation”, organised
by the KVIC here. |
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NEW DELHI, April 7 (PTI) — Frito Lay India (FLI), a wholly owned subsidiary of Pepsico, has moved the Delhi High Court to restrain “Uncle Chipps” and its associates for allegedly copying its promotional scheme. FLI, in its petition, alleged that Uncle Chipps Private Ltd has copied its one of the most successful free gift scheme of giving away “Tazo” disc with every pack of wafers “Lays”. Frito Lay counsel Mukul Rohtagi and Prathiba Singh said Uncle Chipps’ free gift disc called “Amazzo” was phonetically and visually similar to that of “Tazo”, thereby amounting to passing off of such discs as of Frito Lays. The matter will come up
for further hearing tomorrow. |
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NEW DELHI, April 7 (UNI) — Patents have been filed abroad for making basic Indian dishes and food ingredients such as “khoya”, “dal” and “dosa”, posting a threat to the traditional knowledge and expertise of women here, warns a leading food rights activist. Participating in a
round-table discussion here today on “Economic
Empowerment of Women”, organised by Women’s
Political Watch and Unifem, food rights activist Vandana
Shiva said patenting of traditional knowledge and
globalisation of agriculture posed a threat to Indian
farmers, particularly the women.
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Make
public audit output-driven: PM NEW DELHI, April 7 — The Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, said today that the financial control exercised by the legislature over the government was weak and this was responsible for the increasing number of scams and other examples of misuse of Government money in the country. “Those who perpetrate them know that first they are not likely to be caught, and even if they are, unless it is a large amount, it will simply be buried in one of the paragraphs of a report that is not always read and acted upon”, Mr Vajpayee said. Inaugurating the 20th conference of Accountants-General here, the Prime Minister said the serious flaws of omission and commission in the use of public resources were the main reason for developmental projects, especially those in the social sector, failing to take off. “This has to change. My government is committed to improve adherence of the tenets of transparency and accountability in all ministries and departments. We have to ensure that every information that the Government auditors call for must be provided at the earliest. Having been the chairman of the Public Accounts Committee twice, Mr Vajpayee said he knew what a difficult job it was to scrutinise the central government’s expenditure. The Prime Minister said expenditure management in government had suffered for too long on account of narrow and unthinking obsession with mechanical book balancing. Public audit should be output-driven rather than purely input oriented, he added. Mr Vajpayee was of the opinion that the government-owned organisation in the productive sector should have an audit regime similar to that of the private sector. Inflexibility of procedures and lack of functional independence in the public sector places it at a clear disadvantage over the private sector. This is an important area of PSU reforms and should brook no delay, he added. Earlier the Union Finance Minister, Mr Yashwant Sinha, said accountability in financial administration could be achieved without the assistance of the CAG. With the process of decentralisation having been initiated larger transfer of resources to Panchayati Raj was taking place. Audit of these accounts was one subject that the conference should discuss, he added. With large parts of government budgets being transferred to non-government entities, this was another area that needs to be discussed. The Comptroller and Auditor General of India, Mr V.K. Shunglu, said the span of government audit had increased in recent times and there was a need to empower the CAG further. In this regard, he said, the government should pass a legislation. He added that the states
and other government organisations should also have an
internal audit mechanism to prevent widespread misuse of
the taxpayers’ money. |
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BONN, April 7 (PTI) — A WTO arbitration panel has ruled that the new EU banana import rules violate international trade laws, clearing the way for the USA to impose 100 per cent tariffs on nearly $ 200 million worth of imports from Europe. The ruling by the Dispute Settlement Panel (DSP) of the Geneva-based world body could set a precedent in other trade disputes, including the EU ban on hormone-treated beef. While European Commission officials were reviewing the ruling in Brussels, the USA claimed a major victory in the dispute which threatened to erupt into a major trans-Atlantic trade war. US Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky said the ruling had sent a message that the WTO cannot be used to engage in “endless litigation.” This was the fifth time in six years that the WTO has ruled against the EU’s banana import rules, Barshefsky said. Though the latest ruling clears the way for Washington to penalise a range of European imports by imposing 100 per cent tariffs to the tune of over $ 191.5 million, Washington still has to seek a formal approval from the DSP before imposing penalty duties. The amount of $ 191.4
million awarded by the panel was much less than the $ 520
million that the USA had claimed and used to draw up a
list of European imports that it intended to penalise
retroactively.
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Punwire puts Khalsa events live
on Net CHANDIGARH, April 7 — To streamline and efficiently manage the flow of pilgrims at Anandpur Sahib, Punwire has provided an online satellite-based VSAT system. This link is utilised by various coordinating agencies to record and manage the movements of guests and for fleet management. The installed system also provides a hotline voice link between the control centres set up by various agencies at Anandpur, New Delhi and Chandigarh. The communication system installed by Punwire also helps in bringing the events live on the Internet. All information regarding various events is being relayed on the Internet by the Anandpur Sahib Foundation. The Net users all over the world can access this information and can know the day’s programme by visiting the web site of Anandpur Sahib Foundation. Punwire has also put on
display various products manufactured and sold by it to
coincide with the tercentenary celebrations, said a
company statement here today.
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JCT Electronics plans rights issue NEW DELHI, April 7 (PTI) — Thapar group company JCT Electronics Limited (JCTEL) will infuse fresh equity worth Rs 50 crore within the next two months as part of a major financial restructuring exercise. The company is planning to bring out a rights issue for the purpose, and has outlined several other measures to achieve a Rs 150 crore cash surplus by 2005. “We will bring in another Rs 50 crore equity within the next two months as part of the ongoing financial restructuring exercise to revamp the company,” Chief Executive Officer of JCTEL Anil Nayar told PTI here today. JCTEL manufactures
colour picture tubes (CPT) and reported a nearly 28 per
cent fall in 1998-99 sales due to cash flow problems
besides simultaneous investments in its new plant at
Vadodara. |
Morepen expects to double exports NEW DELHI, April 7 (PTI) — Morepen Laboratories, a Rs 250 crore pharmaceutical major, hopes to double exports of loratadine in the current fiscal following the USFDA approval for its manufacturing plant at Parwanoo, Himachal Pradesh. “We hope to double our exports from Rs 25 crore in 1998-99 to Rs 50 crore in the current fiscal,” the company’s Chairman and Managing Director K B Suri told PTI yesterday. The company was awarded
the food and drug authority approval in March, 1999,
which would enable it to tap many more markets abroad,
resulting in a substantial rise in exports, he said. |
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MUMBAI, April 7 (PTI) — The National Stock Exchange (NSE) today announced the names of corporates with maximum number of complaints pending against them for more than two months as on March 31, 1999. Videocon International
Ltd was on top with 23 complaints pending against them,
followed by Vatsa Corporation Ltd with 21, Padmini
Polymers Ltd with 11, Xedd Telecom Ltd with 10, NEPC
India Ltd and Rinki Petrochemicals & Inds Ltd with 8
each, Grapco Inds Ltd and Sterlite Inds (India) Ltd, both
6, and Cauvery Software Engg System Ltd and Pentafour
Products Ltd with 4 each, an NSE note said. |
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CALCUTTA, April 7 (UNI) — Missing Chairman and Managing Director of Exide Industries Limited Satyabrata Ganguly has sent a message that he would come back soon,West Bengal Home (Police) Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya told reporters here today. “We got information that he is alive, all right and is not under any pressure,” and he will be coming back soon, Mr Bhattacharya said. Mr Ganguly himself sent the information to his family and the government, he added. Mr Ganguly has been
missing since Friday last while on a morning walk. |
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CALCUTTA, April 7 (PTI)
— The Calcutta High Court yesterday passed an
interim order restraining the Chief Income Tax
Commissioner from giving effect to the order passed by
him on March 17 in respect of ITC Ltd. The Chief
Commissioner on that date confirmed the decision of the
I.T, Department by giving appointment of G P Agarwal as
special auditor of ITC Ltd for the assessment year
1996-97. |
NEW DELHI: The government will soon amend the Road Transport Corporation (RTC) Act, 1950, to usher in reforms in the cash-strapped state road transport corporations. “We have already finalised the contents of the new legislation in consultation with the chief executives of SRTs,” Secretary Ministry of Surface Transport R. Vasudevan told the two-day annual conference of the Association of State Road Transport Undertakings here. The amendment has been necessitated as majority of the state transport undertakings have accumulated unmanageable losses due to lack of professional management and required expertise, Director Central Institute of Road Transport Sudarshan Padam said. Stating that the financial losses accumulated by SRTCs amounted to Rs 500 crore during 1997-98, Vasudevan said Karnataka and Rajasthan were the only two states which made profits by running buses. The Centre has already asked the State Governments to take steps for the setting up Citizens’ Charters which would ensure the government’s accountability and commitment towards various public utilities, Vasudevan said. — PTI Better show NEW DELHI: Car manufacturers performed better in March this year as compared to the previous months, latest data indicates. Sales of Maruti Udyog Ltd increased by about 24 per cent in March 1999 to 31,200 units from 25,177 vehicles sold in the previous month. Makers of Honda City cars in India, Honda Siel Cars India Ltd, managed to double its sales in March as it sold 1359 cars compared to 604 units in February. Hyundai Motor Ltd sold 4290 Santro cars in March which is almost double of the sales realised by the company in February. — PTI Mid-size cars NEW DELHI: Maruti Udyog Limited’s Esteem sales fell by 7.5 per cent during the 1998-99 fiscal even as the mid-size and luxury segment witnessed a 9.9 per cent drop, provisional industry estimates reveal. Mercedes-Benz recorded a nearly 45 per cent surge in sales during the year, having offloaded 500 cars in 1998-99 from nearly 345 units a year earlier. Opel Astra sales stood at 3,429 units at the close of the year from 7,548 units while 519 units of Contessa were offloaded during the year, down from 1,136 units a year ago. Ford India Limited sold 3,116 units of Ford Escort during the financial year, down 51.6 per cent from 6,451 a year ago. Daewoo Motors registered a 47 per cent drop in sales while sales of Telco’s Sierra and Estate slipped by 42 per cent from 1,736 units in 1997-98 to 1,003 units in 1998-99. Pal-Peugeot, which has already closed shop in India, sold 133 units of its Peugeot 309 cars as against 1,309 units a year ago. — UNI LML scooter JALANDHAR: LML Ltd launched a special limited edition scooter to coincide with the tercentenary celebrations of the Khalsa Panth. Only across Punjab and Chandigarh, on a first come, first-serve basis. Mr R K Caprihan,
Executive Director-Marketing, LML Limited, said here on
Wednesday the scooter NV Spl will be available in three
specially developed colours — zonny blue, canterbury
green and desert mist. — FOC |
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| Forex rates MUMBAI, April 7 (PTI) — The following were interbank forex and RBI rates (in rupees per unit): US $ Rs 42.67/69 STG £ Rs 68.12/14 Euro Rs 46.15/17 Jap Yen (100) Rs 35.50/52 The RBI reference rate was 42.64. Gold recovers DDA NABARD Tax workshop V.P. Arora |
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